What Do the Stoics Say?

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Stoicism is a diverse kind of philosophy with common themes running through it. The greatest divergence is between musonius rufus and either seneca or marcus aurelius. A stoic will tell you a, you know what? What do you need to drink? But if you handed a stoic a glass of really fine wine, he would probably say, oh, sure, i'll drink that. And then if you said, ok, no more wine, he said, joav some water, cause i'm thirsty right now. So it's that notion that you joy what life has to offer, but without becoming addicted to it.

Author and philosophy professor William Irvine goes in-depth on Stoicism, and why the fundamental tenets of this ancient philosophy can provide answers to some of the toughest problems in today’s society. On this episode Irvine offers a definition and some useful background on Stoicism and its origins, the original Stoics, their thoughts on failure, their advice on decision making, and how we can train ourselves to be more stoic.

Irvine has written seven books including the wildly popular 2008 release A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy, and the 2019 follow-up, The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient. Irvine also teaches philosophy and logic courses at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

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